


Two Sides of the Same Coin

by horologiums_time



Category: Captain Underpants Series - Dav Pilkey
Genre: Gen, blood mention but nothing too bad i hope, something happens and krupp and captain underpants find out about each other, they can communicate through their minds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-14 14:00:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11209518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/horologiums_time/pseuds/horologiums_time
Summary: After an incident during a battle, Captain Underpants suddenly finds himself sharing his mind with his very bitter alter ego.





	1. Chapter 1

This fight was taking a lot longer than he thought it would.

Captain Underpants was not one to give up in the face of evil, no matter how difficult the villain was. Good always prevailed against evil and he wasn’t about to let that change. The fate of this city rested on him after all!

But as he dodged yet another purple laser that whizzed by his foot a little bit too close for comfort, he couldn’t help but feel like taking a break. He was, surprisingly, tired, a rather foreign feeling for the usually energetic Waistband Warrior. All of this flying and endless dodging was starting to wear him down. He wished that he could actually get close enough to the villain to punch it, but every time he neared the crazed robot, it shot off a bombardment of purple lasers, energy crackling in arcs as they passed by the Captain’s body.

George and Harold had tried to help him by distracting the robot, throwing whatever they could find at it, but that soon failed once Captain Underpants realized that the robot had cameras everywhere, along with laser guns on every side of its body.

Afterwards, he settled with just dodging the lasers as they shot past him. 

While his dodging worked, he was stuck where he was. The robot was relentless with its weapons, firing off a few every several seconds just to keep the Captain on his toes. At least the robot was showing signs of it running out of power.

It was all in the matter of who will run out of energy first. 

“Captain, watch out!”

Captain Underpants barely had time to think before a beam of purple whizzed past his head, nearly clipping his ear. He quickly jerked to the side as yet another laser tore through his cape. The robot gave a low, garbled growl as it recalculated its aim to focus on the Captain. The large man really wished he wasn’t so tired from his maneuvers; he could’ve ended this fight sooner.

There was a sharp smell of ozone as laser passed just short of his elbow. The large man hissed at the searing heat. He had enough of this nonsense. Summoning the last remaining power within him, Captain Underpants prepared to rush the bot and finally end this long battle, but a sharp metallic clang cut him off. He quickly looked behind him and caught sight of a billboard wobbling precariously on its supports, before the supports buckled and the sign came crashing down. It didn’t take long for Captain Underpants to realize that the billboard was going to fall onto him and the robot. With the last bit of his strength, the Waistband Warrior flew out of the way of the metal as it collapsed behind him.

The robot, however, was not so lucky. Its focus on Captain Underpants left it unable to get out of the way in time. By the time it realized that there was something about to fall on it, the twisted metal already snagged it and brought the robot down with it.

There was an immediate sense of relief as the robot went down, its body crumpling like a can and its glowing eyes flickering before dimming to a dark gray. Captain Underpants landed on the ground with a triumphant, but worn, grin. George and Harold released a breath they hadn’t remembered holding and made their way towards the Captain, hopping over the holes peppering the ground. The park they were in was a complete and total mess, but at least the danger was now gone.

There was a group of onlookers who cheered upon seeing the Waistband Warrior land, along with some policemen who didn’t look to pleased with the damages. Besides the few scorch marks and bruises on Captain Underpants, thankfully nobody was hurt during the battle.

George was the first to speak, Harold tagging behind him. “Great job, Captain!” he praised.

“Yeah!” Harold chimed in. “It took awhile, but you did it!”

“Well boys,” Captain Underpants rested his hands on his hips. “Good prevails no matter how long the battle takes!”

George looked at the Captain. His body was littered with burn marks and bleeding scratches, not to mention the dusting of dirt that covered him from head to toe. “You should go back to that house with all the toilet paper covering it. You look like you need a shower.”

Harold nodded. “Yeah. After that long battle, you look like you could use a good shower.”

The Waistband Warrior smiled tiredly. “You know? That does sound nice. I'll see you boys later, then?”

George and Harold nodded, relieved that it won’t take too much to change Captain Underpants back. Harold shrugged off his backpack to retrieve some clothes for Captain Underpants. But as he glanced up, he noticed something move beneath the rubble. A purple light blinked on and the pile shifted, revealing a rod-like gun that started to glow. Harold realized much too late just where the light was pointed.

He blanched, scrambling to shove the superhero out of the way. “Captain Underpants, look out!”

“Wha-” Captain Underpants barely turned to face Harold before a flash of purple filled his vision, followed by a burning stab of pain that penetrated deep into his skull. The sharp smell of ozone filled the air as streaks of purple lightning danced around him. 

“Captain Underpants! No!” both boys cried out, reaching for the Captain in a futile attempt to catch him.

From beneath the rubble, the robot whirred weakly, a pseudo smile almost, before its light flickered out. It had succeeded in its plans.

The large man was unconscious before he toppled to the ground with a muted thunk. George and Harold were immediately by his side, George taking his pulse and Harold inspecting the now burned skin above the Captain’s eyebrows. George removed his hand from the superhero’s wrist.

“He’s got a pulse.” Both boys sagged in relief. “But he’s out cold completely.”

Harold snorted. “Gee, you think? He was just shot in the head by a laser!”

“Thank goodness he has superpowers. I don’t even want to think about what would’ve happened if he didn’t have them.” George shuttered. “C’mon, we gotta get him home.”

“Home?! You want to take him home?!” Harold exclaimed. “We got to take him to the hospital, George! He was hit in the head! By a laser!”

“You want to take a superhero, with superpowers, to the hospital with a bunch of doctors? He’ll get sent to a laboratory and get experimented on!” George countered, carefully making his way towards the wagon they had conveniently brought with them. “We gotta take him home before the police get to him.”

“Fine. But if he dies, it’s on you George.” said Harold, helping his friend lift the large man onto the significantly smaller wagon.

“He’s not gonna die, Harold, trust me.” grunted George. “Now help me pull him. He’s heavier than a sack of potatoes and the police are coming with more people.”

Harold took the handle of the wagon and started pulling with his friend, both of them avoiding the numerous holes in the ground. The wail of police sirens grew closer, but by then the two boys were already out of the park.

It didn’t take that long for them to show up at the door of 301 Curmudgeon Street. The small, decrepit house was still covered in toilet paper, although there were signs of Mr. Krupp trying to clean it up, if the full trash cans by the curb were anything to go by. In a way, the white material gave off a ghostly atmosphere, with the bare trees and the dead grass along with the dark tint everything seemed to have made this house seem like it was abandoned.

But the two boys knew that the outside betrayed what was on the inside. 

George put his hand on the doorknob and twisted, relieved that the door was not locked as it swung open to reveal the cosy interior within. George and Harold shoved the wagon into the house, it’s wheels squeaking under the weight of the Captain. It stopped short of the entryway to the dining room.

“Huh, deja vu.” Harold commented.

George simply nodded before walking into the house and taking the wagon’s handle yet again, motioning to Harold to help him. The boy jogged over, but not before taking in the cuts and bruises on the Captain. Some of the more serious cuts were still bleeding, and the bruises and burns marbled his skin. 

The burn above the Captain’s eye, however, was the worst out of all of his injuries. Harold didn’t even want to look at it, knowing for a fact that it won’t look pretty.

Harold grabbed the handle. “Should we...at least patch him up a bit? He looks really bad. Like worse than before.”

George looked at Captain Underpants, recoiling a bit. “Yeesh...we probably should.”

“C’mon,” Harold began to tug the red toy. “I don’t think the wagon is gonna hold him for much longer.”

The two boys carefully maneuvered the wagon towards the bathroom. They pushed the wagon into the room and quickly started to look around for bandages. George grabbed the “His” towel and soaked a part of it in water, running it over the Captain’s cuts to clean them. He frowned at the darkening spots on his towel. He hoped that the stains could be easily washed out.

Harold, meanwhile, searched for some bandages that were big enough to cover the scrapes. His face lit up as he caught sight of a box of large, square bandages. He grabbed it and made his way towards George.

“I found some band-aids. They’re big ones, too.” he said as he opened the box. Surprisingly (or rather, unsurprisingly), there were only a few bandages inside. Harold fished them out and discarded the box.

He handed half of them to George before opening a few of his own. Together, the two boys patched the superhero up, careful not to touch the burns or wounds on the Captain’s body. George flinched when he saw the burn above the Captain’s eyebrow, quickly covering it up with the last of his bandages. 

The two boys stepped back from their work with relieved faces. Now the superhero didn’t look as bad as he did before, the gashes and burns covered up nicely by the tan bandages.

They grabbed the wagon and pulled it down the hallway towards the bedroom, the red toy groaning under the large superhero as it was tugged along the worn carpet. The door to the bedroom creaked open, followed by George and Harold and Captain Underpants.

The wagon was pulled up close to the bed. George cracked his knuckles and Harold stretched his arms as they prepared to lift the large man from the wagon. With all their might, they hefted Captain Underpants up onto the bed, groaning from the sheer weight of the superhero straining their small statures.

A creak from the bed was heard as it sagged. The two boys shoved the Captain onto it, his body rolling and settling into the deep imprint in the mattress. Before long, George and Harold started to hear soft snores coming from the man.

They let out sighs of relief, exhausted from the day’s excitement. They both grabbed the handle of the wagon and trudged out of the room, pulling the door shut softly. The two boys walked out of the small house, locking the door behind them, and made their way down the pathway, passing the toilet paper-filled trash cans before walking down the sidewalk, their wagon squeaking along the way.


	2. Chapter 2

Benjamin Krupp woke up with the single worst headache in his life.

It felt like someone had rammed an axe through his head and was trying to wedge it open. The merciless pounding made it hard for him to even see straight, let alone think straight. There was a constant noise in his ear, echoing in his mind, something akin to static and muffled...something. Mr. Krupp wasn't sure what it was, but one thing was for certain.

It really hurt.

Krupp groaned as he tried to sit up, letting out a sharp gasp when several stabs of pain shot through his body and his migraine pounded on his brain. Several parts of his skin stung and his muscles could hardly hold the large man up. The pain was barely enough to handle, and Krupp wished he could fall back into the peaceful sleep he had just woken up from.

But the headache and the pain and the soreness were already present and too overwhelming and Krupp doubted he could go back to sleep again.

Besides, he had work today and he didn't set up a substitute. It was much too late anyways, as where can you find a capable individual to keep the school together in such a short notice? Along with the fact that he was saving his vacation days for a potential vacation (or unexpected hospital visit), Krupp had no choice but to brave his pains and go to work.

The man finally managed to shove himself out of his bed. He stumbled a bit, his vision swimming and his limbs not quite corresponding with his pain-addled brain. Krupp leaned on his walls as his shuffled towards his bathroom, nearly falling over when his arm missed the open door. He barely registered his confusion through his migraine as he looked at the empty box of bandages and towel strewn across the floor.

“Who…” He didn't remember putting on any bandages or using his towel yesterday. In fact, he couldn't remember anything past lunch time yesterday. He was chewing out those two troublemakers again and the news on his radio he had brought into his office was talking about a robot near a park and then he heard a snap somewhere and now it's the next day. It was becoming concerningly common for him.

Krupp rubbed his face with his hands, wondering if dementia was starting to get to him, before turning slowly towards the mirror. The man stifled a shout and nearly fell over when he caught sight of his body.

He was just in his underpants…again, and was certain he'd find a red curtain with black dots on his bed as they always seem to show up whenever he wakes up in just his underwear. But it was not the lack of clothing that bothered him at that moment.

It was the sheer amount of cuts and bruises and burns that littered his body. He figured out just why the box of bandages was empty, as there were several large square bandages all over him. He saw the discoloration of his burns against his skin and the dark lines of cuts across his face, arms and chest, a sickening feeling growing in his stomach as he began to realize that those were the least serious of his injuries.

Krupp leaned against his sink, one hand gripping his aching head. He didn't have time to freak out over spontaneous injuries and the block of memories that was missing between yesterday and now. Work was more important. 

He opened the bathroom mirror and searched for any kind of Ibuprofen or Tylenol or something to tone down his migraine. Thankfully, there was some Tylenol in the cabinet. It was difficult to see straight and his hand wavered. He squinted at the blurry bottle that was now in his hand, barely able to make out the dosage. The steady stream of muffled static in his head did nothing to help with his concentration. In all honesty he was glad he was in his underwear because it felt like he was overheating, or at least, his face felt like it was on fire.

He popped two tablets in his mouth and swallowed thickly, hoping that the medicine will work quickly. Krupp turned on the faucet and splashed his warm face with cool water, easing him just a bit. He looked back up to the mirror. A pair of tired, bloodshot eyes surrounded by dark circles stared back. Above his left eye was a bandage with a ring of discolored skin around it. Maybe that was the reason for his headache.

Krupp groaned. The migraine was starting to die down a bit already, but it still felt like someone had hit him with a sledgehammer.

This was going to be a long day

\------

“Did we even pour water on his head?!”

A few students turned to look at the duo quickly walking down the hallway, their voices low and harsh. They had frantic looks on their faces as the passed by their fellow peers without even saying a word to them.

“Oh no! I don't think we did!” hissed Harold to his friend.

George ran his hand down his face. “I can't believe we left Captain Underpants alone! Who knows what he could be doing!”

“We gotta find him, George, and fast or-!”

They were cut off by a flurry of students running by them. George and Harold barely had time to ask one of the students what was going on until they found just what they were fleeing from.

Or rather, who.

A rather tired and sore looking Mr. Krupp came stomping down the hallway, his face twisted in a mixture of anger, annoyance and pain. His sharp teeth were bared, challenging any brave soul to dare to bother him. Every booming step he took, Krupp flinched in pain and his grimace grew even more.

By the time he reached George and Harold, his breathing was ragged and his face was contorted in a pained scowl.

“Uh, morning Mr. Krupp.” George said awkwardly. He stepped backwards when the man shot him a scathing glare.

“Get to class, both of you,” he snapped. He paused, looking as if he wanted to say more. His accusatory finger wavered before he dropped his hand to his side. The man blinked away the barely noticeable confusion in his eyes before growling. “Now.”

His strained tone left no room for argument. George and Harold quickly turned heel and walked as fast as they could to their classrooms. They could feel the stare of their principal boring holes into their backs. Not long after, they heard the heavy footsteps of the man leaving towards his office.

“At least he's not Captain Underpants anymore.” Harold said when they were out of the earshot of Krupp.

“Yeah,” George agreed. “But how? We never poured water on his head, Harold.”

“Maybe it was the towel you had yesterday. You had it on his head, right? When you were cleaning that burn?” Harold said. 

“But the towel was damp, not soaking wet,” George said. “And I never put the towel close to the top of his head. He was still Captain Underpants when we put him in bed.”

“Then how is he Krupp?” Harold asked worriedly. “That should be impossible!”

George tried to calm his growing anxiety. “Well...maybe the towel was damp enough to change him back to Krupp. And it was close enough to the top of his head to work.”

Harold looked like he wanted to believe his friend, but his eyes were filled with uncertainty as he stared at George. “Do you...do you think that laser caused him to switch? It hit him on his head.”

George’s eyes widened. “I hadn’t thought of that,” He ran a hand through his short hair. “Maybe it did. It would make a lot of sense if it did.”

George chuckled and dropped his hands to his sides. “Why do we get so worked up about these things? I mean, it's good that Captain Underpants switched back, right? Why should we worry about it?”

Harold cracked a small smile. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Why do we?”

But the grin didn't stay long. Yet again Harold’s eyes were filled with anxiety as he stared at his best friend. 

“George, I'm kinda worried about him,” he admitted in a quiet tone. “That laser really messed him up. This isn't normally how he switches back!”

George placed a hand on Harold’s shoulder, a soft smile on his face. “Since when were our lives normal?” He patted Harold on his back. “C’mon, let’s get to our classes before we get another tardy. I hear that once you get five of them, it's detention for a week.”

\------

It wasn't even close to lunchtime and already his head felt like it was splitting in two again.

Krupp rested his face in his large hands as the migraine mercilessly pounded away at his head. The stupid Tylenol didn't work at all, seeing as it lasted all of three hours when the dosage is meant to last for six to eight hours. Maybe it was expired.

The man gritted his teeth as another wave of pain resonated through his skull. The static was back and even louder, bringing along with it a slew of emotions Krupp wasn't quite sure were his.

He groaned as he remembered what had happened only a few hours ago, him walking towards George and Harold with the full intention of sending them to his office for the prank they had pulled the day before (it took the janitor forever to clean the eggs off of the ceiling, he heard) and to also question them about what had happened after lunch yesterday.

As he was stomping towards them, his annoyance and anger was suddenly mixed with an underlying, yet alarmingly prominent feeling of fondness for the two, along with an odd stab of relief and happiness. Like he actually cared about them, and he couldn't bring himself to punish them like he had intended.

It had caught him off guard, the fond feeling towards George and Harold, so much so that he could only stare at the retreating backs of the two boys as he tried to comprehend what had just happened. Never in his life would he have ever thought of liking the troublemakers.

What happened infuriated him to no end. He had his one chance to chew them out, but now it was gone forever. His head hurt way too much to think properly and he feared that he'd once again feel that same disgusting feeling of fondness. 

There was a spike of confusion that felt distinctly separate from his own thoughts, almost as if another person was there. Krupp scowled and rubbed his head, wondering if he's finally snapped and gone mad.

Another person inside his head. Ha! As if.

Besides, it might just be his migraine making him delirious. The sheer pain would make anyone crazy.

Speaking of pain, Krupp groaned as yet another burning spike was rammed into his head. He messaged his face, his hands cold against his hot forehead. He needed more Tylenol, stat.

Fumbling awkwardly, he searched the drawers of his desk, knocking over a few things in the process. The pain was making it difficult to function normally and Krupp could barely see straight. His stomach was twisted in a knot and his throat burned, all while his migraine pounded away at his skull. The static seemed to get louder and Krupp swore he heard something akin to a voice in the midst of the rushing noise.

The first few drawers yielded nothing at all, besides a few pens and some random paperwork. He kept on searching, nearly crying out in frustration as he slammed the last drawer of his desk closed, hardly noticing the chips of wood flying off of it.

Of course he didn't have anything in his desk. The universe hated him after all, if you were to go by the memory lapses and random injuries he always woke up with.

Krupp hissed out of his teeth. He'll have to go to the nurse’s office for some Tylenol if he wanted to go on with his day. With almost every ounce of his strength, he staggered to his feet.

Immediately he was hit by a wave of dizziness, mingling with his headache, creating a swarming sensation of barely tolerable pain that made him sick to his stomach.

The door to his office creaked open, the noise hardly registered by Krupp. There was a sharp gasp and a “Benny!”, followed by some rapid footsteps towards the man.

“Oh my, Benjamin!” Krupp weakly deduced that it was Edith, the timid and caring lunch lady. “Are you alright? Why, you look awful!”

“E-Edith…?” he asked, leaning heavily on his desk. He felt his hand being grasped by a thick rubber glove. It was damp from something and Krupp didn't want to think about the possibilities of why. All he wanted to do was to get medicine for his headache and focus on the fact that Edith is actually holding his hand-

“What's wrong?” asked Edith, her voice wavering with concern.

“A bad-” Krupp gritted his teeth in pain, his hand nearly crushing Edith’s. “Migraine.” His head felt like it was about to split open, his free hand reaching up to cradle his head as if he was trying to keep it together.

“-don't worry, Benny!” Edith’s voice sounded further away than before. Had he blacked out for a few seconds? The glove was no longer on his hand, much to his disappointment, and Edith was now walking towards the open door. “I'll get some medicine for you!”

Before he could say anything, Edith was already closing the door behind her.

The words “I'm fine” died in his throat as he stared at the office door. He didn't want Edith to worry over him, especially if it was just a migraine. She had other things, more important ones at that, that she needed to do. Yet, she was so quick on trying to help him and made it her duty to get medicine for him without thought for anything else.

She didn’t need to worry about him right now. It was a kind gesture, bless her heart, but he can fend for himself. He can stagger to the nurse’s office no problem.

Krupp winced as yet another stab of pain hit his skull. Or maybe not, he thought.

Outside his door, there was a shuffle of feet and paper, the rather kind voice of Ms. Ribble permeating through the wooden door. Had he not felt like his head was cracking in two, Krupp would’ve shuddered at the sweetness that dripped from her voice.

“Good morning, Ms. Anthrope!” Ms. Ribble greeted the secretary cheerily. “I have a few things I'd like to copy.”

“...and why are you asking me?” inquired Ms. Anthrope. “The staff don’t have to ask to use the copier.”

“It's only polite.”

Krupp felt like gagging at the sweet tone. Ever since the whole marriage prank George and Harold pulled and the “Wedgie Woman” fiasco, Tara Ribble had gone from one of the cruelest teachers to the nicest person imaginable, her rough voice taking on a more motherly tone and a bowl of cookies being nestled in her arms every day.

The sudden change had shocked the staff and, when questioned, George and Harold were mysteriously evasive and danced around the questions asked (which is weird, seeing as they do the same thing whenever Krupp asks about the bruises and blackouts he's suffered through).

The muffled sound of papers rustling brought Krupp back to reality. He blinked, unaware that he had spaced out again. The pain was making it difficult to keep his grasp on what's going on around him.

“Don't worry, Ms. Anthrope,” Ribble was still speaking in that sickly sweet voice. “I'll be done with these copies in a snap.”

And she snapped her fingers.

The door did nothing to muffle the sound. Krupp felt himself getting pulled back by something, the edges of his vision darkening as he fell back. A weightless feeling came over him as the blackness swallowed his sight, and he tumbled into nothingness.

The snap echoed around him, rebounding against invisible walls that only seemed to be around him.

Before the world around him was completely consumed by the inky darkness, there was a flash of purple, arching like lighting.

Confusion flitted across Krupp’s mind for a moment, before the inky darkness swallowed him and he felt no more

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Geez louise I am sorry for how long this chapter took. Hopefully this won't be the case with the next chapter. I finally have a good amount of free time for the next few weeks, so I'll be writing then

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea bouncing around in my head for a while, so I finally decided to write a story about it. I really like the headcanons about Krupp and CU communicating somehow, so I decided to write a story and put my own spin on it.
> 
> Anyways, this will be the first multi-chapter fic I've written and posted, so I apologize for any errors in it.


End file.
